CHAPTER 5

CLASTIC RESERVOIR
ROCKS

Reservoir Geology
Deals with the origin, spatial distribution, and
petrological characteristics of reservoirs.
Utilizes information from sedimentology,
stratigraphy, structural geology, sedimentary
petrology, petrography, and geochemistry to
prepare reservoir descriptions.
Direct observations of depositional textures,
constituent composition, principal and accessory
minerals, sedimentary structures, diagenetic
alterations, and pore characteristics provide the
foundation for reservoir descriptions.

Reservoir Geology
The goal of such interpretations is to formulate
geological concepts to guide in predicting
reservoir size, shape, and performance
characteristics.
Reservoir characterization; like reservoir
geology, deals with physical characteristics of
the reservoir.
It differs from geological description in that data
on petrophysics and fluid properties are
included.

Reservoir Geology
Sandstone and limestone (including dolomite)
are the most common reservoir lithologies.
The main reasons to study clastic and
carbonate reservoirs and aquifers are to learn
more about how to find, extract, and manage
the oil, gas, usable water, or other resources
they contain.

Clastic Reservoir Rocks

(i) Sandstones
Environments: Coastal/shelf marine, fluvial,
sub-aerial.
Composition: Grain Size: framework fraction:
particles 63 to 2000m in diameter.
Mineralogy:
Quartz (SiO2) dominant mineral -- 50 - 60%
framework.
monocrystalline form - single large grains.
polycrystalline chert nodules.

Quartz
M

P
P

M with overgrowth
(formed during
diagenesis)

Polycrystalline (P)
Monocrystalline (M)

P&S, Fig. 5.8

Sandstones Reservoir Rocks

Feldspars (AlSi3O8) second most abundant
mineral - 10-20% of the framework
less stable than quartz; alters to clays
Alkali (Potassium -K) Feldspars (orthoclase,
microcline), Plagioclase.
Clay Minerals < 5% matrix
Accessory Minerals - < 1 to 2%
micas (muscovite, biotite)
heavy minerals (zircon, rutile, magnetite,
pyroxenes, amphiboles).

Feldspars
Feldspar
crystal

Blue = pore space (crystal largely dissolved during deep burial)

Sandstones Reservoir Rocks

Mineral Cements:
Silicate (SiO2) based cements (mainly
Quartz).
Carbonate (CaCO3) based cements

Sandstones Reservoir Rocks

Sandstones Classification:
Provides information about:
Provenance (source rocks from which components
derived)
Transport processes

Concept of maturity:
Physically mature
All grains well rounded/ spherical
All grains same size
No matrix

Sandstones Reservoir Rocks

Chemically
mature;
All grains are
quartz

Stable Grains 100% = HIGHLY MATURE

Matrix
100%

Unstable
Grains
100%

Sandstones Classification:
- Folks classification

Sandstones Classification
- Pettijohns classification

Sandstones Classification
- Pettijohns classification
based on QFL triangles
uses matrix %
no simple scheme for physical maturity
needs thin section -- rarely possible in hand
specimen

Sandstones Classification
Sandstones Classification:
Arenites - grain supported, well sorted
sandstones (<15% matrix).
1. quartz arenite
extensive chemical weathering - product of
multiple recycling, mature
Marginal marine facies (beach)

Sandstones Classification
2. arkosic arenites (>25% feldspar)
Abundant feldspar, micas low maturity
Poorly sorted, angular grains
limited chemical weathering - either very cold
and dry climate, or rapid erosion and
deposition

Sandstones Classification
3. lithic (rock fragments) arenites
limited chemical weathering - mountainous
region, rapid transport
alluvial fans, or other fluvial environments
Laminations, cross-bedding possible.

Sandstones Reservoir Rocks

4. Wackes - abundant matrix, poorly sorted
(>15% matrix)
Deep water facies waning turbidity current.
a. quartz wacke, feldspathic wacke
b. lithic (rock fragments) wacke
c. graywacke
matrix rich sandstone of any composition
very hard, and dense undergone deep
burial

Sandstones Reservoir Rocks

Examples of sandstone reservoir
rocks. (A) clean, well sorted
sandstone, (B) angular,
feldspathic sandstone, and (C)
argillacious, very poorly sorted
sandstone.

Sandstones Reservoir Rocks

Photomicrograph of a quartz arenite under ordinary

light. Simpson Group, Ordovician, Oklahoma, USA.

Sandstones Reservoir Rocks

Photomicrograph of a greywacke under polarized light.

Jurassic, UK North Sea. Note the poorly sorted texture
and abundance of matrix and twinned feldspar..

Sandstones Reservoir Rocks

Photomicrograph of quartz wacke under polarized

light. Carboniferous, Chios, Greece. Note the poorly
sorted texture and abundance of matrix.

Sandstones Reservoir Rocks

Photomicrograph of arkose under polarized light.

Torridonian, Precambrian, Scotland. Note the
abundance of twinned feldspar and the better sorted

Conglomerates
A coarse grained siliclastic rock with a muddy
or sandy matrix.
Associated with High Energy environments:
mountains, margins-fans, glacial, turbidity
current.
Composition:
Grain Size:
30% gravel size (>2mm in diameter) rounded
clasts.

Conglomerates

Conglomerates
1% of all sedimentary rocks.
High energy environments - mountains,
margins-fans, glacial.
Composition:
Grain size 30% gravel size (>2mm in
diameter) rounded clasts.

Conglomerates
Classification:
Orthoconglomerates consist primarily of
framework grains and <15% matrix.
Paraconglomerates have a matrix of sand and
finer clasts and are matrix-supported.
Diamictite is another term for a
paraconglomerate, and is often used to denote
glacial rocks.

Shales
LOW ENERGY Environments;

Deep-quiet water
Abundant fine sediment
Composition:
Grain Size:
silt and clay (< 63 m)
Mineralogy:
fine grain quartz
clay

Shales

Classification:
1. siltstone (>66% silt)
2. mudstone (<66% silt,
>33%clay)
3. claystone: (>66% clay)
Pelagic
clay

silt

Pore Space Properties

The basic framework of a sandstone reservoir
is formed by the sand grains between which the
pore space may or may not contain interstitial
fine material and/or cement.

Framework of reservoir sand with

interstitial clay and cement.

Pore Space Properties

The amount of this intergranular pore space or
porosity is controlled primarily by sorting of the
sediment.
The porosity of a reservoir rock is defined as
that fraction of the bulk volume of the reservoir
that is not occupied by the solid framework of
the reservoir.

Vb V gr
Vb

Vp
Vb

Pore Space Properties

Grain textures are the chief factors that control
the porosity and permeability of sediments in
siliciclastic settings.
These include:
1) grain size distribution (mean, median, and
sorting),
2) shape (sphericity),
3) packing,
4) composition, and
5) cementation.

Pore Space Properties

In sandstones, porosity is controlled primarily
by sorting, cementation and, to a lesser extent,
by the way the grains are packed together.
Porosity is at its maximum for spherical grains
but becomes progressively less as the
angularity of the grains increases because such
grains pack together more closely.
However, porosities of packed sands show a
general decrease as sorting becomes poorer.

Pore Space Properties

This is because the smaller grains partially fill
the interstices between the larger grains.

Pore Space Properties

Packing is the mutual spatial relationships
between grains. Close packing reduces
porosity and permeability.

Pore Space Properties

Packing:
Cubic
arrangements:
47.6% - low
packing.
Rhombus
arrangements:
26%.

Pore Space Properties

Porosity Ranges:
Sand and gravel
20-50 %
Till
10-20 %
Silt
35-50 %
Clay
33-60 %
Clastic sediments
typically 3-30 %
Limestone
<1 to 30 %
Basalt
1-12 %
Tuff
14-40 %
Pumice
- 87 %
Fractured crystalline rock
1-5 %
Unfractured crystalline rock
~0.1 %

Pore Space Properties

Permeability is a measure of the ability of a fluid
or a gas to cross a network of pores.
Measured in Darcy (D, or mD)
A measure of the degree of interconnectedness
of pores.
Permeability depends primarily upon the size,
shapes and extent of the interconnections
between individual pores (pore-throat diameter)
rather than the size of the pores themselves.

Pore Space Properties

What influences the throughput of a fluid (Q)
through a porous solid?

Length, l
Fluid viscosity,
Cross-sectional area, A
Pressure difference, p

lTherefore: permeability (proportionality

constant), k

A p
Qk
l

 The general darcys equation is:

L
Q

A
P1

P2

Q = flowrate (cm 3/sec)

k = permeability (darcy)

Q k dP

A dL

A = cross section area (cm 2)

= fluid viscosity (cp)
P = pressure (atm)

L = length (cm)
41

L
Q

Q = 1cm3/sec
A

P1

P2

A = 1cm2
= 1 cp

Find k ?

P = 1atm
L = 1cm

1 darcy is defined as the permeability that will

permit a fluid of 1 centipoise viscosity to flow at
a rate of 1 cubic centimeter per second through
a cross sectional area of 1 square centimeter
when the pressure gradient is 1 atmosphere
per centimeter.
42

Pore Space Properties

Experimental data show a marked decrease in
permeability as grain size decreases and as
sorting becomes poorer.
Composition:
The amount and kind of clay, as well as
distribution throughout the reservoir rock, has
an important bearing on liquid permeability,
whereas a small amount has little effect on
porosity.

Pore Space Properties

Three general types
of dispersed clay in
sandstone reservoir
rocks and their
effects on
permeability: (a)
discrete particles of
kaolinite;
(b) pore lining by
chlorite; (c ) pore
bridging by illite/
montmorillonite.

EaES 350-2

45

EaES 350-2

46

EaES 350-2

47

Pore Space Properties

Cementation:
The highly cemented sandstones have low
porosities, whereas the soft, unconsolidated
rocks have high porosities.
Both permeability and porosity of sedimentary
rocks are influenced by the extent of the
cementation and the location of the cementing
material within the pore space.

Pore Space Properties

Conclusions:
Porosity is independent of grain size.
Porosity is dependent of packing, sorting,
composition and cementation.
Permeability depends upon the size,
shapes and pore-throat diameter.
Packing is dependent on depositional and
diagenetic history.

Classification of Porosity
Primary Porosity
The porosity preserved from
deposition through lithification.
1. Intergranular or interparticle:
voids between grains, i.e.,
interstitial voids of all kinds in all
types of rocks.

Classification of Porosity
2. Intercrystalline: voids
between cleavage planes of
crystals, voids between
individual crystals, and voids in
crystal lattices.
3. Bedding planes: voids of
many varieties are concentrated
parallel to bedding planes.

Classification of Porosity
4. Miscellaneous sedimentary voids:
(i) voids resulting from the accumulation of
detrital fragments of fossils, (ii) voids resulting
from the packing of oolites, (iii) vuggy and
cavernous voids of irregular and variable sizes
for at the time of deposition, and (iv) voids
created by living organisms at the time of
deposition.

Classification of Porosity

Classification of Porosity
Intergranular porosity

Intragranular porosity

Microporosity

Intergranular porosity (X)

in limestone
Biomoldic porosity

Intercrystalline porosity
(X) within dolomite

Cavernous porosity

Classification of Porosity
Secondary Porosity: The porosity created
through alteration of rock (diagenesis and
catagenesis), after the deposition of sediment.
1. Solution porosity: channels due to the
solution of rocks by circulating warm or hot
solutions; openings caused by weathering,
such as enlarged joints and solution caverns;
and voids caused by organisms and later
enlarged by solution.

Classification of Porosity
2. Dolomitization: a process by
which limestone is transformed into
dolomite according to the following
chemical reaction:
2CaCO3+ Mg2+ CaMg(CO3) + Ca2+
Because the ionic volume of
magnesium is considerably smaller
than that of the calcium, which it
replaces, the resulting dolomite will
have greater porosity.

Classification of Porosity
3. Fracture porosity: openings created by
structural failure of the reservoir rocks under
tension caused by tectonic activities.

Classification of Porosity

Classification of Porosity
4. Miscellaneous secondary voids:
(1) saddle reefs, which are openings at the
crests of closely folded narrow anticlines; (2)
pitches and flats, which are openings formed by
the parting of beds under gentle slumping; and
(3) voids caused by submarine slide breccias
and conglomerates resulting from gravity
movement of seafloor material after partial
lithification.

Diagenesis & Reservoir Quality

Diagenesis of sandstones
All changes, physical, chemical, and biological, that
occur in a sediment after deposition and before
metamorphism (<150-200oC).
These changes happen at sediment-water interface
and after burial.
Two important processes
Compaction - decrease in volume, largely by
squeezing out of water
Cementation - introduction of chemical
precipitates between grains

Diagenesis & Reservoir Quality

Muds can be compacted because grains are ductile
(flexible) and can pack easily.
Sands are not easily compacted because they are
supported by grain-to-grain contacts
The diagenetic history of a sandstone is controlled
principally by the chemistry of the pore fluids that
have moved through its pore system. The main
factors that determine mineral precipitation or
solution are:
the chemistry of the sediment, and
the composition, concentration, Eh, and pH of the
pore fluids.

Diagenesis & Reservoir Quality

Although many reactions occur during sandstone
diagenesis, only a few are of major importance in
sandstone cementation and porosity evolution:
those that control the precipitation of silica,
carbonate, and clay minerals.
Clay minerals are similarly sensitive to pH.
Kaolinite tends to form in acid pore waters, whereas
illite develops in more alkaline conditions. Siderite,
glauconite, and pyrite are all stable under reducing
conditions.

Diagenesis & Reservoir Quality

SEM images displaying morphological features of
grain-replacing, disordered kaolinite that has been
transformed partly into well-ordered kaolinite.

Diagenesis & Reservoir Quality

Optical micrographs of grain-coating, infiltrated
clay layer saround sand grains.

Diagenesis & Reservoir Quality

SEM images of
smectitic clays, which
have a honeycomb
crystal shape and are
common in
sandstones rich in
volcanic rock
fragments.

Diagenesis & Reservoir Quality

of Malay Basin
Porosity in the sandstones at Angsi, Besar,
Duyong, Duyong Barat, and Sotong varies with
facies and diagenesis.
It ranges from 7 to 27% in thin sandstones (less
than 10 m) and from 14 to 24% in thicker
channelized sandstones. Porosity loss is due to
compaction and quartz overgrowths and
ferroan-calcite cement.

Diagenesis & Reservoir Quality

of Malay Basin
Composition of clays in the massive sandstones in
the north and northeast of Malay basin varies from
predominantly kaolinite to a mixture of kaolinite
(60%), smectite-illite (17), and chlorite (23%).
Authigenic kaolinite exhibits a high crystallinity, with
crystals ranging up to several tens of micrometers.
They occur as an alteration product of feldspar; as
booklets or aggregates on grain surfaces filling
pores and associated with authigenic quartz.

Diagenesis & Reservoir Quality

of Malay Basin
Kaolinite booklets (KA) on smectite-illite (SL) coated framework grain. Tiong-5, 2312.8 m msl.
SEM photograph. Scale = 10 m.

 Assignment No. 1

Title :
DIAGENESIS AND
RESERVOIR QUALITY EVOLUTION
OF SANDSTONES
Assignment No. 2
Title
:
DIAGENESIS OF
CARBONATE RESERVOIRS